


A Peculiar Unfathomable Combination

by matchsticks_p (matchsticks)



Category: Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series)
Genre: Didn't Know They Were Dating, Didn't Know They Weren't Dating, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Misunderstandings, Romantic Gestures, Taiwan trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21797173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matchsticks/pseuds/matchsticks_p
Summary: Steven and Andrew aren't on the same page. And then they are.
Relationships: Andrew Ilnyckyj/Steven Lim
Comments: 11
Kudos: 112
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	A Peculiar Unfathomable Combination

**Author's Note:**

  * For [panpipe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/panpipe/gifts).



Halfway through the flight to Taiwan, with Steven fast asleep on Andrew's shoulder, Andrew thinks about the romantic surprise he's planned. 

He's liked Steven for a long time—at first it was just an idle crush, then stoked by repeated exposure and continual admiration into a deeper affection, to now something he would definitely call love. And he knows Steven likes him back, may have even gone through the same progression of feelings too, but they've been caught up in a long dance of will-they-won't-they because Steven is…traditional. He believes in marriage, not fooling around, and with the whole Andrew-being-a-man issue factored in, Andrew needs to put in twice the work. 

Before they date, he wants to make a grand gesture to ensure Steven understands that he would take them seriously, be in it for the long haul, for realsies. There are whole parts of the trip that Andrew has planned without any input from Steven, romantic parts, when they usually plan these things as a team. Annie is the only other person aware of the plan, against her wishes. She is very ambivalent about being roped in, as someone who has watched them dance around each other and who very much does not want to be involved in their dumb personal lives, but he needs someone who’ll be there to divert Steven’s attention if needed and get him to the right place at the big climactic moment. It’ll be great.

As if she can sense his thoughts, Annie looks across the airplane aisle and narrows her eyes at him. Andrew hides his grin against a blissfully unaware Steven's hair. Yeah, it'll be great.

* * * 

Steven is really enjoying his time in Taiwan with his friends and his wonderful boyfriend Andrew, whom he’s been dating for almost two years. 

The weather’s hot but not unbearably so. The street food stalls have been delicious, and have given Andrew many opportunities to feed him with his hands. 

"Oh my god you have to try this, it's amazing," Andrew says, holding a fresh mochi ball between his thumb and index finger while cupping the palm of his other hand underneath to catch any ground peanuts falling off. He delicately pops it into Steven's mouth.

"Mmmmmm," Steven moans. The flavor explodes on his tongue, a perfect complement to the pleasing texture. "It's so good."

"Yeah," Andrew agrees, breathless with excitement and enthusiasm. "Want another one?"

Adam watches with mild disgust, while Annie mutters ‘oh lord’ as she shakes her head and walks away. But Inga, correctly, thinks that they're adorable and beams at them. 

Inga is a great guide and takes them to amazing places, most of which they don’t even film. Like a salt harvesting farm, where Andrew makes a lot of ‘salty liquid’ innuendos that cause Steven to giggle and blush, and cause Adam to attempt to drive their rental van off without them. The little side locations make it feel like more than just a work trip, and the way Andrew is acting makes Steven think he might be up to something.

Andrew is normally very attentive already—it’s one of the things that make Steven love him so much, he feels so completely taken care of and listened to and safe when he’s with Andrew—but on this trip he’s somehow taken it up a notch from normal. 

He always pulls out his chair for him and pours his drinks, even back home, but on top of that he's being extra physically affectionate, constantly pressing up close against Steven when they're out on the street, hands lingering at Steven's elbow and fingers brushing his whenever he passes something over, practically breathing down his neck whenever they stand close. 

It makes Steven think something's up. Andrew's acting different because something's different. He can't put his finger on what, but on their fifth day there Andrew starts off the morning acting particularly suspicious. They're back in Taipei, and by the afternoon Andrew has somehow made sure that the two of them are alone. They're taking a long circuitous walk that highlights local hidden gems, guided by a scrap piece of paper that Inga had scribbled directions on, and Andrew keeps sidestepping all of Steven's attempts to ask why it wouldn't make more sense for Inga to just take them around.

"I have a surprise for you," Andrew finally says, in that perfect space between afternoon and evening.

Something in his voice makes a quiver of anticipation flutter down through Steven's throat to his heart. 

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you, I have to show you. Come on," Andrew says, leading the way.

* * * 

Andrew can tell Steven has no idea where they're going.

Annie has helpfully taken Adam and Inga back to the hotel on the pretense of needing to work on some production things, and Andrew is pleased to be proven right all along, that her assistance really was needed after all. It's just the two of them now, and Andrew reaches his hand out to Steven, delighted when Steven takes it with a blush.

It's nearing sunset as they approach their destination, which is rather unsubtly called “Lovers’ Bridge.” It has an honest to god huge sculpture that says “LOVE” at one end, but Andrew has carefully ensured they approached from the other side and hopes that Steven won’t know about the name or the sign. 

The bridge overlooks the wharf and all of the guidebooks said that the sunset over the water looks absolutely breathtaking. It’s such a popular view that the bridge is crowded, and it slowly dawns on Andrew that it’s very obvious that, like, at least 80% of the people on the bridge are couples. He hopes Steven doesn't notice that either. 

Their hands are still linked, and he uses that to stop Steven when he decides he's found a good spot. He can tell by the way Steven's side-eyeing him that he knows something is afoot, but Andrew claims he read in a guidebook that sundown on this bridge is a tourist must-do and that's why they're here.

To be fair, it really is spectacular. The sun hovers above the horizon, casting sparkling ripples across the water. The way the golden-soft twilight slants across Steven's cheekbones is so beautiful that Andrew could die, and fuck it, this is it, this is his big plan, all or nothing. He tugs Steven around to look at him instead of the sunset. Steven grumbles in protest, but complies. 

Andrew swallows hard before he starts talking. “Steven, I’ve felt this way for a long time, and I know you feel the same, but we haven’t really had the chance to explore it yet and I get it, you’re an old fashioned guy, your morals are important to you, so before we start dating I want to make it clear that—”

“Um, what?” Steven interrupts. A confused smile plays at the corners of his lips.

“What?”

“We’ve been dating for twenty months. Is this a joke?”

“What? No we haven’t. I mean, I—”

“Yes we have,” Steven interrupts again. Now there’s no smile, just open confusion. 

Andrew has an equally confused look in return for him.

“Andrew, you’ve held my hand, you’ve met my mom, you took me to a movie for our first date and we literally go on a date every Friday, we have for over a year—” 

“I didn’t know those were dates,” Andrew says.

“What the heck Andrew, _you’ve met my mom_ , I don’t…” Steven scrunches up his nose and eyes like he’s fixing to cry, and Andrew’s plan has gone to shit but he can’t fix it, he can’t just tell Steven sure, they’re dating, he’s just joking, because that would be a lie.

“Well fuck me I guess because I thought you were my _boyfriend_ ,” Steven continues. “I thought—god, I’m so stupid. I started getting nervous when you brought me here because I thought you were going to propose.”

“Wait, I was. I am. I’m proposing.”

“What the HECK, Andrew!”

They’re starting to get loud enough for the happy couples, the couples who are _not_ confused about whether or not they have been dating, to give them sideways looks. Andrew lowers his volume. 

“I thought you were waiting for a gesture!” he whisper-yells. “We haven’t kissed! Or done other things!! I thought you didn’t want to move forward unless you knew I was serious! I have a ring in my pocket literally right now. Here, look—” He fumbles around for the box and pulls it out, flipping it open to reveal the band inside.

“So, what, you didn’t want to take me on a date but you want to propose to me so I’ll put out?” The words are supposed to sound angry, but they sound wobbly instead.

“No, I want to propose to you so I can _marry_ you.”

They’re at an impasse. They stare at each other in baffled silence, Andrew terrified that Steven might start crying for real at any moment. With the sun now fully down below the water, it’s beginning to get a little darker and chillier. Steven had only worn a thin t-shirt out, while Andrew had brought a light jacket. He shrugs it off and puts it around Steven’s shoulders.

“Do you see!” Steven bursts out. “This is why I thought you were my boyfriend! Shit like this!”

Andrew has to admit that’s a valid point. But also, like, “I wish you had told me we were dating. I would’ve held your hand a lot more.”

“I wish you hadn’t missed every single sign!”

It makes Andrew feel like he should apologize, but for what? He’s at least fifty percent sure he hasn’t done anything actually wrong. “So should I not be asking you to marry me, then?” he asks, tone characteristically flat but uncharacteristically unsure.

Steven throws his hands up in exasperation. “The answer is hecking yes!”

Andrew thinks it’s a little unfair of Steven to keep acting like he’s missing the obvious when it’s clearly only obvious to Steven, but he’s sneaking one hand into Andrew’s pocket so he can put the ring on himself, and cupping the other hand around the back of Andrew’s neck to draw him into a kiss, and the last of the fading sunlight twinkles across the water on the horizon, and the night stretches ahead of them full of promise and delicious night market foods on sticks that they can hold with one hand to leave the other free to intertwine fingers with each other, and Andrew kisses him back, and finds that he can’t be mad about a single thing that led them here.

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from a quote from the great photographer Diane Arbus: "love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding." Thank you to the light of my life Adi_Rotynd for the eagle eyes and bang-up beta job. Thank you to my recipient Panpipe/chrestomanci for taking part in Yuletide this year and allowing me to write for this delightful pair. Lastly, thank you to you for reading.


End file.
